Veteran actor George Segal honoured with Hollywood Walk of Fame star

Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - 11:02 PM

Veteran actor George Segal said Dame Elizabeth Taylor had “kind of a dirty mouth” and hailed Richard Burton as the greatest actor he ever worked with as he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The 83-year-old starred opposite Hollywood’s golden couple in Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in the 1966 film.

After being honoured on Hollywood Boulevard, George described Burton as “a total great”.

He told the Press Association: “With Burton, that was Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and I always thought of that as a pyramid – with Burton on the top.

Comedian David Spade and filmmaker Kevin Smith were among the guests watching George as he was presented with the 2,602nd star on the walk of fame.

On stage, George said: “You know I was 83 yesterday so this is some birthday party with all these people I love. That’s a lot of people to love.”

George Segal (Chris Pizzello/AP)

He added: “It’s a nice feeling because I’ve always been aware of this but never specifically. It’s nice.”

Dame Elizabeth won her second best actress Oscar for her role as Martha opposite her then-husband Richard in the adaptation of Edward Albee’s play about a middle-aged couple whose marriage is breaking down.

Richard missed out on the best actor Oscar for his role in the film, while George – who played young biology professor Nick – lost to Walter Matthau for the best supporting actor award.

George went on to star in a host of Hollywood films including The Hot Rock and A Touch Of Class, for which he won the Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy in 1974.

He also appeared opposite David in TV comedy series Just Shoot Me! from 1997 to 2003 and currently stars in The Goldbergs, which aired on Channel 4 in the UK.

David said: “Sometimes when we were shooting I’d forget he was in so many great movies and he worked with Elizabeth Taylor and he was up for an Academy Award. Luckily he reminded me of this every day.”

He then joked: “I have some more nice things to say but I’m running out of time so I’ll save the rest for the funeral.”